peake



E. S. PEAKE Jan. 29, 1935.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF AMMUNITION Filed NOV. 25, 1932 if t QQ@ QQ@ Patented Jan. 2.9, "41.935`

L" 391,989,495 I .A f,

` r2li/IE'II-OD ANDAPPARATUS FOR THEMANU- i 'FACTURE 0E AMMUNETION.

EdwardlnS;` PeakepColjumbus, Ohio assigncr vto The` Kilgore Manufacturing Company, Westerville, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio y `Application November 25, 1932,'Serial No. 644,302

I1 claims. (ci. y sen-1) l i My'iinvention relates to` an apparatus and process for the manufacture of ammunition and particularly cap ammunition for toyrwea'pons. i It is^theolojectfoi`= `my inventionA to provide a 5 process forV the rapid manufacture in multiple of a plurality of stripsof ammunition withspaced dots of ammunition carried in a-waterproofconi tainer` between which .dotsof ammunition are provided openings for the feedingrof` the animunition stripsin the pistol. l y i YInparticular, it iszmyobject to provide a-mechanismv and process for` manufacturing inV broad sheetsthel product in..` question and ofidelivering it vinra plurality of relativelyenarrow strips in such lengths as may be desired without any part ofthe apparatus and-the product being touched by hand..

`This ,is particularly desirableas `it permits". the operator to stay at a reinotepoint from the maf chine with the minimum chance of"`injury dueto explosion. A ".Referring" to the drawing; j i *Figure l isa topi plan View/of the apparatus practicing the process,"` A

Figure 2 is asideelevation thereof;

Figure .3 is an end elevation of the combined puncher and cutter;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the completed strip; i i

Figure 5 is a side elevation thereof. n Referring to the drawing, in detail, 1 is a roll of supporting paper which is unwound to pass beneath a spotting press having projections 2 on which a supply of explosive in liquid condition has been placed. The ammunition spots indicated at 3 are thus printed at spaced intervals transversely and longitudinally of the sheet 1. The projections 2 are carried on the head 4 of the press. The base 5 is -provided for supporting the sheet, suchbase being comprised of some soft material forming a relatively soft pad. The printed sheet then passes into the dehydrator cabinet 6, heated by the. burner 7 having vents 8 where it is dried. It thence passesbeneath the thin covering tissue sheet 9 which is rolled at 10 and the under` face of which has a coating of 9 glue applied by the glue spreader 11.

This glued sheet 9is applied to the ammunition sheet by passing between the hard rubber belt 12 and the felt belt 13. The composite sheet then passes into a second drier or dehydrator 14 having the heater 15 and vent pipe 16. The completed dried sheet then passes over a die base i 17 vwhere it is punched by the punches 18 to form the feed holes 19; It is also slit in strips 20 by the 'longitudinall cutters 21. The punches and cuttersare carried by the head 292. If desired, the completed strips maybe either rolled or may be cut inlengths by thetknife 23-anddroppedl into the packing box 24. l

Anysuitable means may be `provided-*for rop- Y erating t'liepresser head the punch and cutter head 22 'andv for feeding the strip of paper so vthat the heads will be intermittently operated and the sheetrof paper intermittently fed, the paper being fed while each head is in elevated' position, and' beinglfedf intermittently `so that all-parts of the sheet will be similarly acted upon.

M cthod My method, therefore, comprises unwinding a relatively broad strip of paper as, for instance, about eight inches wide, then printing Vupon it while in moist condition a pluralityof spots of explosive material of any desired'ch'aracter, then drying these spots on the paper and then applying `a cover, preferably thin, which has had applied to itann under coating of adhesive;l then sfueeaing .the cover; on tcp of theA ammunitionV sheet thus formed, drying the adhesive and then severing into final form as well as punching the sheet.

In order that the problem of this process may be understood, it will be realized that the exp1o` sive is highly sensitive as it is a material used for percussion caps in cap pistols. In view of the highly sensitive character of the material, it is a diflicult problem to punch the holes 19 equidistant between the ammunition spots 3 in such a manner as to not touch the spots and ignite the entire sheet. It is, therefore, necessary to have a continuous synchronous process traveling at a uniform speed and carefully timed so as to prevent the explosion and ignition of the material passing through the machine.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as may be necessary to adapt it to varying conditions and uses.

Having thus fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: Y

1. The method of producing cap ammunition, as a continuous operation consisting of the following successive steps, supplying an ammunition sheet, printing upon it simultaneously an area of spaced rows of ammunition spots, immediately thereafter drying the sheet, pasting a cover sheet thereon, redrying the sheet, Vpunching a plurality of apertures in the sheet between the ammunition to one another, immediately thereafter drying' the compressed sheet.

3. The method of manufacturing capammunition, as a continuous operation'consisting of they following successive steps, providing a relatively broad sheet, imprinting in a single operation a plurality of lines of ammunition spots while the ammunition material is in moist condition, immediately thereafter drying the combined strip and ammunition spots, applying a glue-coated cover sheet tothe ammunition sheet with its spots, pressing the cover sheet and ammunition sheet to one another, then drying the compressed sheet and simultaneously punching rthe resulting sheet between the spots of each line and severing the sheet between the lines of spots and perforations in the strips.

, 4. The method of manufacturing cap ammunition, as a continuous operation consisting of the following successive steps, supplying an ammunition sheet, moving the sheet step by step, applying a plurality of rows of ammunition spots to the sheet between the steps while the sheet is at rest, drying the sheet, applying a cover to the sheet, compressing the cover, immediately thereafter redrying the composite sheet with its cover and perforating the sheet between the ammunition spots of l each row while it is at rest between the steps of movement,

5. The method of manufacturing cap ammunition, as a continuous operation consisting of the following successive steps, supplying an ammunition sheet, moving the sheet step by step, applying a plurality of ammunition spots to the sheet between the steps while the sheet is at rest, immediately thereafter drying the sheet, applying a cover to the sheet, compressing the cover immediately thereafter, redrying the composite sheet with its cover, perforating the sheet between the ammunition spots while it is at rest between the steps Vof movement, and severing the sheet in strips simultaneously with punching them.

6. An apparatus for manufacturing cap ammunition in a continuous operation having, in combination, means of supplying an ammunition sheet, means of printing a plurality of moist spots of ammunition in transverse and longitudinal rows, means for drying the sheet so printed, said means being located in such close relationship to the printing means as to operate immediately followingthe printing operation, means of gluing the under side of a cover sheet, means of applying the glued surface of the glued sheet to the ammunition sheet over the spots, means for pressing the sheets together, means to dry the composite sheet immediately following the pressing operation, and means to perforate the sheet between the rows of spots in one direction.

'7. An apparatus for manufacturing cap ammunition in a continuous operation having, in combination, means of supplying an ammunition sheet, Vmeans of printing a plurality of moist spots of ammunition in transverse and longitudinal rows, means of drying the sheet so printed located in such close proximity to the printing means as to operate immediately following the printing operation, means of gluing the under side of a cover sheet, means of applying the glued surface of the glued sheet to the ammunition sheet over the spots, means to dry the composite sheet located in position for operation upon the ammunition sheet immediately following the combining of said sheets, means to perforate the sheet betweenv the rows of spots in one direction, and means to slit the sheet parallel to the rows of perforations. y

. EDWARD S. PEAKE. 

